Speaking of Star Trek, this spin-off series celebrated its 20th Anniversary last year at this time. And this year marks with 50th Anniversary of Star Trek. I’m very excited to see what celebrations will turn up this year!

Bubble Bobble is my all-time favourite video game. Playing it on a phone just isn’t the same as the old school arcade, or even my Commodore 64. That’s why I have dusted off my old computer to play it the way it was meant to be played once again.

This is one of my favourite art lessons to teach. It’s based on a photograph and looks closely at how a background source of light affects a foreground image. Plus, I just really love this picture and the art it inspires.

Last year, I made the communication between home and school a bit more fun. Instead of prose newsletters, I sent home ones in comic strip form. I found that they were eagerly anticipated and read. Regular newsletters are often just trashed. Why not give it a try?

He might not be, but the story is such a great read. And it keeps the possibility of Peter Parker returning to don the costume once again. Until he does though, I am in rapt attention with this series.

This is how it works, at the start of each month I look back at the blog entries I posted the previous year in that month and highlight some of my favourites. This gives us a chance to dig through the old posts and unearth some gems that might otherwise get buried in the archives.

I collected a few more autographs last year at Fan Expo. I’m really excited about going back to the event this weekend. Alex Maleev is going to be there this year. I would so love to get his autograph. I probably won’t be able to though since he is doing a signing at the same time at the Doctor Who panel. 🙁

I’ve used a variation of this plan every year for the past several years and it has never failed. It’s due for a tweaking though. I never just re-use units or lesson. I always strive to improve and build upon past successes.

It’s hard to believe that it is August 2015 already. Time seems to be flying by. That’s one of the reasons I love having this blog. I can take a moment to look back at what was. Won’t you do that with me right now?

This is my newly revised year plan that I used to teach a combined Grade 2 / Grade 3 class last year. It is very detailed and can help you in your planning. Feel free to download it as a PDF or as a MS Word document that you can customize to your needs. Happy Teaching!

The public education system is broken. I’ve known that for a long time. I tried to fight against all the aspects of it I didn’t like, but it was impossible to enact any sort of change. Instead, I just got more and more discouraged. I am seriously thinking about starting my own school. Hopefully I can make that happen.

Baba Brinkman combines stage theatre, education, and hip-hop into brilliant presentations. I interviewed him on my radio show and also ran one of his TED talks on the program. Be prepared to be educated and entertained at the same time. Science and hip-hop unite!

Learning can be its own reward and sometimes it is impossible to predict what things you might need to know in the future. Don’t you agree? This is a great post to read if your students have ever asked you this question.

Music is truly powerful and I believe everyone should have the chance to play. That is why it is so inspiring to see low cost instruments being made from garbage. I saw the band live last year at this time and was completely blown away. You will be too!

I love this drama unit that brings a very good picture to life in creative ways. Arthur finds a large egg one day and decides to bring it home. He helps raise a nice and friendly dragon, but some people can’t see passed the fact that it is a dragon. Children love this book and all of the activities that you can do with it. This unit is completely free too. Why not use it in your classroom or theatre group?

This was such an amazing movie. It shows the true power of writing and does so with a quirky story and great acting. I implore you to watch it and not fall in love with the title character. It’s just not possible to do so, in my humble opinion!

While this show was only on the air for two seasons, it really captivated my attention with a unique premise that was delivered it beautifully. The final episode tied everything together and gave us a great sense of closure. I love when television shows actually do that.

I went to a conference where one of the speakers blamed the erosion of values on “Chuck E. Cheese” and “hip-hop culture.” Those were his exact words. I’m glad we finally pinned down this problem. Now we can do something about it. Did you get the sarcasm there?

This kind of ignorant thinking really infuriates me. Both Chuck E. Cheese and hip-hop music have great things to offer. I hate my culture being used as a scapegoat all the time. It needs to stop.

This is not a metaphor either. We have people living in this very province who live in Third World conditions. It’s hard to believe that this could happen in the rich and abundant country we live in. This is something we should be rallying behind. Let’s do something!

It’s a hard thing to do when we see everyone around us having things we don’t have. It’s the human condition to want more. But perhaps, we should be content with what we have and appreciate all of the little things more. Rest in Peace, Lucas Tait!

It’s important to get students creating in the classroom. I really love the idea of playing with poetry to make it visual somehow. Why not try this with your class and see what brilliant things your students can do.

My dad passed away last year. I wanted to share some of my favourite memories with him. The time we went Winter Camping was one of those great stories that I will tell again and again. I’m glad I finally wrote it down.

Know Your History is a monthly documentary radio series I produce about hip-hop music and culture. Last year, I did episodes about the history of radio broadcasting, women in hip-hop, hashtag rap, storytelling rhymes, metaphors, concept songs, and much more. You can download the entire fourth season in one handy zip file.

This gives us the chance to look back at the blog entries I posted the previous year at this time and highlight some of my favourites. So, let’s dig through the old posts and unearth some gems that might otherwise get buried in the archives.

The story is very well done. I didn’t want to put it down. It is inspiring and tells a superhero story that is grounded in the real-life heroes we don’t seem to celebrate as much as the fictional ones in this culture.

I love this book so much. Who cares if it is out of print? It is an amazing book for young musicians and a great part of my music program at school. That is why I have made it available for you to download for free. Enjoy!

My father passed away last year on Halloween, so I spent the next week sharing stories and memories of him on my blog. This is one of my favourites. My dad never had much of a sweet tooth. He didn’t care for birthday cakes, so my brother and I made him a giant birthday cookie.

This was a great trilogy of books. About halfway through Book 3, there was a reveal that was absolutely mind-blowing. I never saw it coming but it made perfect sense. I actually yelled at the book in delight. I love it when a story can do that.

This was crazy! A flash flood made the corn maze a lot more difficult that it probably should have been. It was cold and wet when the water was close to being knee-high. At least I was able to document it.

This is a radio special I did about actors who decided to try their luck in the rap game. These career moves weren’t the best idea, however. Tune in to hear some great stories about how hard it is to make this transition. Other than Drake, not too many people have been able to pull it off. So, don’t quit your day job people!

I love this play that my students and I co-authored. It’s a great spin on the iconic tale of Romeo and Juliet. In our version, Romeo is murdered and Juliet and her friends try to discover who did it and why. It is hilarious and you can download the PDF for free. Enjoy!

Here is a great lesson plan using the song, “Summer’s Gone” by Buffalo Tom. I adopted the Literature Circle approach for the music classroom. These free worksheets can be used in many different ways too. It’s well worth the click-through.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading over the past few weeks about classroom management. I think I am going to keep my rules as they are though. I already made these snazzy posters and I like how the are phrased and pictured.

I had a great skate here last year. I should go back this summer! If you love skateboarding, you should click through so you can see the ramps and explore some of the other great skateparks in Southern Ontario, Canada.

I love this episode of my hip-hop documentary series. It’s all about the power of storytelling and how it is done in rap music. I know I have been slacking with the blog this year in transcribing and posting episodes. I hope you have been following the podcast on The Word is Bond so you’ve heard them all. If not, go now and check out this year’s episodes.

Twitter revolutionized the way we communicate and it even influenced a new poetic style in hip-hop. Or is it that new?

I explore the history of Hash-Tag rap and trace it’s origins back to the very start. You’ll be surprised at where this journey takes us. Read, listen, or download the podcast / radio show. It’s one of my favourite episodes.

Gareth Malone inspires me. I’m not a singer but his ability to bring a group of musicians together in any situation is absolutely incredible. BBC documents his journeys is several different television series. The Choir is one of the best and I have enjoyed every season.

This book is a behind-the-scenes look at the television series and it was a great read too!

Comic creators love to recreate origin stories. We’ve seen the origin of Daredevil retold four times so far, once from the legendary writer Frank Miller. But I much prefer Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s take in Daredevil: Yellow.

I know that I am already thinking about the first day of school in September. This is the perfect time to stop and take count of the things that worked well this year and the things that didn’t. As teachers, we should always strive to improve our own practice and student learning.

We live in a society that is becoming more and more visual. It makes sense to combine words and pictures in this day and age. I’m glad to see there are some brilliant writers working with pictures, either in comic book form or in picture books. I love this medium!

It’s time to do away with arbitrary ways of assigning worth to school work. The worth is in the work itself and not a letter grade or percentage. I wish I could throw away marks entirely and provide descriptive feedback to my students instead. That would be so much better.

This movie was beyond horrible. I am often critical of movies. I like things like plot and story when it comes to my films. Call me picky. This was the laziest Star Trek vehicle I have ever seen. There is still life in this property. It just needs someone at the helm that respects the history and vision of Star Trek. I have high hopes that something nice will come together for the 50th Anniversary in two years.

This movie is so good. It manages to capture the old school single-screen video game world to life in a Toy Story kind of way. It is completely original, has a great story, awesome animation, and amazing voice acting. It is quite simply, perfect, and I don’t say that often.